SYDNEY (Kyodo) A Japanese whaling ship and a vessel of an
environmental group collided in the Antarctic Ocean off New Zealand on
Monday, the Japanese Fisheries Agency and the conservation group said.

The accident caused damage to both the 860.25-ton whaler Kaiko Maru
operated by the Institute of Cetacean Research and the Robert Hunter of
the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the agency and the environmental
group separately said.

Sea Shepherd said the Robert Hunter was left with a 30-cm gash in its
hull after the collision in the late afternoon.